Cercle 10-8-7 2010

Matsutani made this painting called Cercle, and, wow, there's so much going on with just black ink on paper! I imagine him circling and circling with the brush to make that big, dark ring. You can almost feel the energy of his arm, right? It's not a perfect circle, more like a record spinning with slight wobble. I like how he didn't just stop there. He added those sharp, diagonal lines that cut through the softness of the ring, adding a bit of tension. It’s like he's having a conversation with himself, balancing control and chaos. The splatters and drips add another layer of spontaneity. It’s a reminder that painting is about letting go. I look at it and I see ideas by Franz Kline or even Robert Motherwell, but there’s something uniquely Matsutani about the mark-making. Ultimately, painting is about discovery, and artists are in constant dialogue, riffing off each other's ideas and techniques. Each piece is an invitation to see the world in a new way.